By the Seashore

Auguste Renoir

1883 · Oil on canvas · European Paintings

Renoir likely painted this work in his studio, posing his model in a wicker chair and relying on studies he had made on the Normandy coast to furnish the beach scene behind her. Stylistically, it reflects the impact of Renoir’s trip to Italy in 1881–82, which inspired him to unite the “grandeur and simplicity” he admired in Renaissance art with the luminosity of Impressionism. His new approach, which he called his “dry” manner, is evident in the sitter’s face, with its carefully drawn features and smooth handling of paint. The medley of quick strokes in the background, however, displays the freer technique of Renoir’s earlier years.

Artist

Auguste Renoir

Date

1883

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929